Playing Minerva
by paynesgrey
Summary: Paire, AU. Claire Bennet keeps her memories, promising to use them for good. Her journey in becoming a hero starts with finding Peter to guide her to her true destiny. PreDistractions.
1. Birth of Athena

AN: This will probably end up as an AR offshoot when the new episode comes out, but meh...I can still dream, heh. Oh, and I'm not great with updating but I will finish this fic as soon as I can. Thanks for looking! Enjoy.

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**Playing Minerva**

Prologue: The Birth of Athena

"_I won't take your memories, not like he said."_

Seventeen year-old Claire Bennett stood in a bus terminal, playing with the frays on her light blue sweater, barely new as she tugged anxiously at the loose strings. She frowned, realized what she was doing, and then rolled the ends of her sleeves over her hands to prevent any more damage.

"_Can you keep a secret?"_

Even if she couldn't, she would have nodded anyway. This man, the Haitian, was sent by her father to take her memories away, to inflict the same treachery that had befell Zach and her family. If she wouldn't have nodded, he would've taken away everything she knew about herself, everything she had learned she could do. Sure, it had taken a while for her to get used to her powers, and often times she had considered herself a freak, but ever since Homecoming night, she had come to accept them – she had to, and it wasn't like they would just go away anyway. So why was her own father trying to hide them from her? Why was he trying to hide her from the world?

She snorted to herself. She hated the fact that all the trust that she had in her father slipped away so easily when he had tried to take her memories. He had tried to take away her_ life_ and even her friends.

Her heart still hurt from Zach's face – the friendship that was so easily wiped away between them. He looked at her like she was a gross bug; even after all they had been through together.

Who knew what else her father had done to all who knew her. Who knew?

Peter… 

Her eyes lit up, and she took a deep breath. Suddenly, realizations came crashing down on her like scalding water.

Just how far did her father's power reach? Would he try to take away Peter's memories too? Peter was the man who saved her, the first person she connected with about her powers. She had finally found someone that was just like her – someone with a gift, a _freak_.

He made her feel like she wasn't truly alone anymore.

But Peter wasn't a freak, and he didn't act like he considered himself one either. He acted like … " … a hero," Claire whispered aloud, and she frantically looked around to see if someone had heard her. Anxiously, she peered to her left to see if her bus was coming yet.

As a tall, dark-haired man ran past her swiftly, her thoughts came back to Peter. He was the reason she was leaving; without him, she felt she had nowhere else to go.

'I can't go back home now, not with what I know.'

---

"You… you can take away my memories?" Claire asked hesitantly as the Haitian man let her go.

He nodded at her with a defiant look on his face. He sat opposite her in her bedroom, and he stared eerily at her as he read her emotions and expressions.

"Then… then you're like me? You're like that Peter guy too. We all have these … gifts?"

The Haitian nodded again, and Claire knew he was a man of few words. It must be even harder for him to even reveal "the secrets" to her.

"And there are others, not specifically like you or me, but others with different powers." He paused, and he watched as Claire got this wondrous look on her face.

It was incredible! There were other people in the world like her, which had dealt with the same problems of secrecy and abnormality as she had. She felt a sense of relief, but with the large Haitian man still sitting in her room, the atmosphere was still filled with unease.

"And you… you work for my father? He came here to … do to me what he did to Zach and my brother, right?" Claire eyed him suspiciously. The evidence was clear; something did happen to Zach and Lyle, where they had no recollection of her powers at all.

This man could do that?

"You can… you can erase thoughts?" Claire started to breathe heavily, and she tried to calm herself from panicking. This man, who worked for her father, was definitely dangerous. She slightly shied away from him as he burned a hole into her from across the room. He didn't smile or look at her with mal intent. He just kept watching her with those speculative, dark eyes.

"What… what else can you do?" Claire was almost too afraid to ask.

"I'll tell you everything if you just calm down, Claire. I'll tell you everything you need to know about your father and his organization. Just trust me."

Her mind felt like it was spinning, and after he opened his mouth to talk, she found fortitude somewhere, and soaked everything in. She knew this was nothing like learning new cheerleading moves or the quadratic equation for an exam; this was **serious.**

---

Claire Bennet gazed out the bus window, keeping eye contact outside and not around the people in the bus. She had already inspected them, and none of them seemed suspicious. She was lucky that on this bus ride, only five people including herself was riding: a older couple, a young teenage goth-looking boy, and large single woman that was already on the bus, snoring away as she got on.

Relieved that she had not been followed, her mind began to wander again, and she thought back to everything the Haitian man had told her.

And somehow, her thoughts always came back to Peter.

She got a quizzical look on her face, and she idly wondered would it would have been life if she had lost her memories of Peter. He had such a huge impact on her life already, even if he'd only ran through briefly, saving her life and giving her some hope that she wasn't the only bizarre person in the world.

He made her feel like she wasn't _alone_ anymore.

She inhaled a breath, which turned into a sniffle, and she realized that she had begun to cry. She knew that without knowing Peter, she would have never been saved – she could have been a casualty, like another diner waitress found murdered in the fridge.

She could have felt even more alone– and since her father had all these connections to have people's memories erased, she would have lost Zach anyway, and even Jackie's death wouldn't have meant the same to her – it wouldn't have felt as terrifying or _real_.

"_Memories aren't linear, Claire. They don't follow time like we do. They come and go, they surface and resurface, and seem as real or as faded as we want them to be. _

"Memories shape our future. They are pieces in a greater construction, and take one of those pieces away, no matter how small or how large of an impact, the construction of our lives has to reshape – either for the good or the bad. But in the end, we all lose something. Losing memories that make you is like losing a hand or an eye …" The Haitian had paused, and Claire finally saw true, compassionate emotion graze his face. "I hate to see their faces when they've lost the memories I've taken. I've taken important parts of them, and even though they breathe on healthy, they never are really whole.

"_They never are."_

Claire wiped away her tears and she remembered. She would remember Peter and the friendships with Zach, and even Jackie's gruesome murder. She would remember the time when she thought her father was good, and when she found out he was not who he seemed to be.

She would remember even if the others forgot. She would play the fool in front of her father to keep the secret locked away, to keep her treasures she called memories.

And she would do something about it. She would not throw away the gift the Haitian had given her. His act of heroism, to let her keep her memories, would not be done in vain.

---

Claire was filled with anger after the Haitian had told her everything about her father's organization. Her nerves ached; her heart pounded in her chest, and her head hurt from feeling so many emotions at once.

For any other seventeen year-old girls, processing that much information might be hard at first, but Claire had been ready. With everything she had gone through in the past 48 hours, she knew her life wasn't going to be the same again.

And on the day that the Haitian had spared her memories and told her everything, Claire Bennet grew up.

But she knew that she couldn't go back now; she could barely face her father. Something inside her flared, and she felt renewed by her decision. She had to get out of Texas soon; she was too involved in many things to ignore this, and she wouldn't cower behind her father's lies.

There was only one person who could help her now. There was one person who could guide and teach her, help her find the answers. She would be a hero now.

She stood up as the Haitian still sat. She looked down at him with defiance and clenched her fists. "You know about my father's files, right?" The Haitian nodded. "Then you can tell me where that man Peter lives. Tell me all you know about him."

The Haitian didn't make a move, and he tried to read her intentions with his eyes. "Claire, you need to stay here… convince your father I took your memories as we planned."

Claire shook her head and waved a hand. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of that tonight. Just give me the address." He had done so much for her already, so she felt a little guilty asking him for more. The Haitian was hesitant, and she looked at him with desperation in her eyes. "Please."

He nodded. "You'll have it tonight in an encrypted email. Turn off your spam filters just for the night, and when you get it, delete it right away and mark it as spam. Do you understand? You must not let your father know you got this."

Claire nodded vigorously, "Yes, I understand clearly." The Haitian gave her one more skeptical glance and then began to stand.

"I don't know what you plan to do, but you must not let him know how much you know. You're young, and you may not realize this yet, but your father is a dangerous man."

Claire gave him a piercing look. "Yes, and you're his faithful servant; I know."

The Haitian gave her a wry smile, the first smile she'd seen from him, and his eyes lit up with a secret scheme. "You're right, but I won't be for long."

And Claire had suspected that he was taking a huge risk to let her keep her memories, and that sparing her had been his first act of betrayal.

"What do you plan to do with that address, Claire? You at least owe me that."

Claire bit her lip and then looked straight up into his eyes and said, "I'm going to find Peter and learn more about the others. I'm going to help him. He saved me to save the world, and I'm going to find out with that means."

The Haitian nodded, and as Claire got lost in her own thoughts and plans, the man who had spared her memories was gone.

---

Claire played the perfect princess that night at dinner with her family. She could feel her father's eyes watching her, waiting for her to slip up or do something suspicious, but it only seemed to make her stronger – her anger fueling her zeal to act the perfect part.

Her mother rambled on about Mr. Muggles, and Claire took to kicking Lyle under the table to cause trouble and divert attention that she knew anything about the incident just days ago. When her cell phone rang, per her timing, she laughed and seemed excited as if she was talking to one of her girlfriends. Her mother told her to take her conversation to her bedroom away from the table, and she candy-coated her behavior more by ripping on Zach to her "girlfriend".

"Yeah, I saw Zach today. You were right; that prank totally worked on him. He's so clueless." She laughed and her father watched her walk away up the stairs to her room. "What? He's telling everyone I'm on meth? No way. It was just a joke. Yep, just as we had planned."

She shut her bedroom door and kept talking about frivolous school stuff and possible new types of cheers. Her father didn't know she wasn't talking on the phone.

If he could act, so could she.

It took everything in her power not to drop the act and confront him, but that would spoil everything the Haitian had sacrificed. It would all spoil her plans to keep her memories and then find Peter.

As she rambled on her phone, mindful of the possibility that her father was listening outside her door, she quietly packed a duffle bag and then waited at her computer for a new email. Still nervous, she smiled anyway that this plan could really work. Tomorrow, she would go to school like normal and then ditch on a bathroom break, ultimately heading for the bus terminal.

It would be there she'd get her ticket to go see Peter. Claire knew that he'd set everything straight.

'I'm coming, Peter.'

She would go to see Peter so she could learn more about her abilities and find others like her.

She would go to see Peter so she could learn about how saving her would save the world.

She would go to see Peter because she would help save the world too.

She would go to see Peter because even though she felt she'd lost her family and friends in one day, with Peter she felt she'd gain so much more in her entire life.

"Memories shape our future. They are pieces in a greater construction."

She would go to see Peter because he was a key in shaping her future. And in a future with Peter, she saw nothing ahead of her but the truth.

END


	2. On Borrowed Time

**AN: ****Warnings: time-travel, memory jumps, implied underage themes. This will probably end up as an AR offshoot when the new episode comes out, but meh...I can still dream, heh. I've taken some more liberties too: like with Claude's character - I know of him only what I've seen on spoilers and the preview teaser, and with Hiro's power - it was unconfirmed if Peter could mimic his powers, or if Hiro can somehow learn to control that or vice versa. The rating went up in this fic too because the second chapter has some mature themes in it. Enjoy!**

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Playing Minerva

Chapter One: On Borrowed Time

_In the not too distant future…_

Grim faces were all around him as he coughed and hacked, thrashing around in tightly wound blankets over his bed. Peter Petrelli had tried to stay strong in front of them, but he just couldn't. This illness came out of nowhere, and one moment he was ready to lead their small rebellion out into the war again, and then next he had fallen to the floor – his head throbbing and his body covered in sweat. His stomach felt knotted, and the powers that he had learned to control under Claude's tutelage were now bouncing around chaotically within his bones and fighting among themselves.

"Unn…" Peter groaned, and Heidi Petrelli put a comforting hand over his forehead, but then Nathan snatched it away. Suddenly, Peter began convulsing wildly again.

"What's wrong with him?" Heidi asked frantically, and she looked around to saddened eyes that did not hold the answer.

"We don't know, Mrs. Petrelli," Hiro said with much improved English. He shook his head sadly and then looked to Peter's sickly body. "He was healthy and standing just a moment ago." Hiro pursed his lips and his face scrunched in concentration. Everyone looked to Hiro as if he knew something was wrong. "Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked quickly, putting a hand on Peter's arm, to both comfort him and hold him down.

"Time," Hiro stated, and he closed his eyes trying to feel something intangible that no one else in the room had the talent to recognize. "There's something in time that seems off. Something happened."

"Gees. He looks worse than that near-miss explosion," Claude harrumphed. "Hey, Dr. Who, you don't suppose something in the past happened to Peter that's affecting him now?"

"It's hard to say," Hiro said. "Time isn't as linear as we can perceive. Action upon action could have multiple consequences." Hiro looked at everyone sheepishly. "Sorry, but I'm still learning about my powers." He sighed and then pouted. "I wish things were easily explained away like in _Star Trek_."

"Hiro…" Peter whispered, and as he breathed heavily, he struggled to reach out a hand to him. Hiro jumped up readily and grasped Peter's hand lightly in his own. "Where's Claire?"

Hiro shook his head at Peter. "Don't you remember? She's in Texas with Nikki and D.L. They found another one like us there, and they're going to appeal for this person's help. I'm sorry, Peter. I know Claire can heal you better than anyone."

But Peter didn't want Claire just for that. He knew that she healed him, and in more times than he could count, she had saved his life by just being by his side. Now she was gone, and he was unexplainably ill – and it wasn't just her healing that he craved. Claire Bennet healed him in more ways then her powers ever could.

"Peter, hang on," Mohinder said next to him, his deep coal eyes burning at Peter with resolve. "We will find out what's wrong with you." Mohinder turned to Claude, who was staring at Peter peculiarly. With all his knowledge, Claude couldn't explain this phenomenon, as everyone would have suspected.

"Hiro…" Peter said, squeezing Hiro's gentle hand still gripping his own. "I need Claire. I'm starting to…" Peter stopped, and his breathing became deep and guttural, and his eyes began to roll back into his head.

"Peter!" Hiro said, "Why do you need Claire? What are you starting to do?"

Peter tried to compose himself, and he used as much energy as he could just to stay conscious. He looked at Hiro directly and said with a desperate voice, "I'm starting to forget her."

"What? How could he forget her?" Nathan asked with a curled lip. He seemed to be exasperated that he could not help his brother. Even he still had a hard time dealing with all this 'power' mumbo jumbo, and everyone knew that he became frustrated even more when it concerned his brother.

Hiro turned around to Nathan, and everyone stared widely at the look of trepidation on his face. "I knew it. It does have something to do with the past. There must be a rift." He looked at everyone's quizzical faces and said. "If Peter never sees Claire in the past before his explosion…"

"… He'll die," Claude finished. He bit on his lip. "I'll admit, it wasn't only my training that got Peter through that. When the young Ms. Bennet came all the way from Texas to see him, she had healed him somehow, not just physically, but on a level that he could control his powers." He raised an eyebrow as if pondering an errant thought, shook it off and continued. "I'd say that with Ms. Bennet there his lessons seemed smoother for him."

"So what could happen back then that would prevent past-Claire from meeting inexperienced-ticking-time-bomb-past-Peter?" Nathan queried, almost scoffing.

Matt gasped suddenly as something dawned on him, and everyone watched his face grow paler. "Her father…"

"Please…" Peter managed to say, still struggling with his strange, time-afflicted illness.

Mohinder felt his forehead, and quickly his hands moved over Peter's chest and legs. "He's incredibly hot, like his body is a battery." He turned around to Matt and said, "Do you still have those radiation detectors you used when Ted was alive?"

Matt nodded once and then rushed to go get them. Nathan stepped up and started waving his hands. "Wait a minute, you think Peter is generating radiation?"

"Maybe," Mohinder said sternly. "One of the chief reasons for the near-explosion was that Peter was around Ted, and he couldn't quite control the amount of power. If not for Claude and Claire, Peter would have fulfilled his vision that day. If he misses meeting Claire in the past, then Ted's power could affect him now."

"Ugh, my head hurts from all this time stuff," Ando quipped. "I don't understand how time could be disrupted anyway. It's not like Hiro's been popping around lately causing time rifts. Right?" Ando turned to his friend for reassurance, but his friend had mixed emotions crossing his face.

There was a pregnant pause, and everyone looked to Hiro for reassurance.

"It's all my fault," Hiro and Claude said together, and everyone seemed shocked that they admitted it at the same time. Claude put a hand on Hiro's shoulder and patted it.

"No, my friend, it is my fault." Claude looked at everyone, and some seemed miffed that something was kept from them until a time like this while everyone else was mystified.

"I should have never agreed to do it," Hiro said pouting. "I knew at the time, if I couldn't control my time powers, Peter surely couldn't either."

"What are you guys talking about? Has Peter come in contact with your powers Hiro?" Hiro frowned as Nathan looked at him fiercely. "Hiro, you know that's dangerous."

"I know, and that's why I tried to stay away from Peter as much as I could until I could learn to control it," Hiro explained, and then Claude came to his defense.

"I forced Hiro to do it," Claude said with deep eyes full of mild regret. "I thought if he could control Hiro's powers, he could control all the other powers even better. He had to learn some time…"

Nathan marched over to Claude and looked him hard in the eyes. "What did you do to my brother? How dare you mess with his life, especially at that time!"

"He had to learn," Claude said stubbornly, pursing his lips. Everyone could tell he was trying not to lose his temper with Nathan, and he knew he was in the wrong. "He was making great progress, and when he returned not more than five minutes after absorbing Hiro's time-traveling powers, I thought that he did all right. Peter told me that no one saw him, and that he talked to no one while he was gone."

"Five minutes can mean a lot for a person who bends time," Hiro responded cryptically, and the look on his face showed he feared the worse.

"Did Peter say where he went when he got back?" Ando asked.

Claude shook his head. "He just told me not to worry. I knew something had seemed strange, but I had gotten to know Peter well enough that if it was truly bad, than he would have told me." Claude cracked a half smirk and added, "Peter is noble like that."

Everyone nodded, and suddenly the room got very awkward again. Peter was still breathing hard, falling in and out of consciousness. Finally, a moan escaped him, and he called out Claire's name.

Hiro swallowed hard as he watched Peter grow more ill by the minute. Finally, he broke the silence and said, "Maybe… this time rift concerns Claire. Maybe Peter visited Claire in the past?"

"You mean he visited her unwillingly? Even by training his powers?" Nathan asked skeptically.

"Peter and Claire have a strong connection, Nathan. It's something I've noticed from the beginning," Heidi chimed in. She moved her chair closer to Peter's side and put her hand over his forehead, brushing his damp hair back. "Maybe he contacted her in some way that alerted her father that she knew…"

"Ah…" Hiro said. "Claire has told me before that her father had tried to have her memories erased. There was a time she had to pretend that she didn't remember meeting Peter."

"But she came to New York anyway. I remember that," Nathan said with a smirk creeping upon his face. "She kept demanding to see him." Then he frowned, and then as the memory seemed fleeting, he looked at Peter again and second-guessed himself. "But am I really remembering that correctly?"

Hiro got a horrified look on his face as Nathan continued to stare at his sick brother thinking of Claire. "Oh no," he stuttered. "What if we all forget?"

"CLAIRE!!" Peter sat up in his bed and screamed. His eyes shot wide open, and his skin looked damper than before. It was redder too, and he seemed to flush increasingly as his body temperature skyrocketed. Matt still wasn't back with the radiation detector, so everyone watched him cautiously hoping that he was okay.

"Nathan!" Heidi turned to her husband and grabbed his arm. "We have to bring Claire back from Texas _now_. He's not going to make it."

"No…" Peter said loudly, and everyone looked at him with shock as he sat up fully awake. Peter was never one to deny a chance to see Claire. "Not this Claire. I have to see … _her_, in that other time." He looked at Hiro and reached out for him. Hesitantly, Hiro came to him and waited for him to explain.

"Hiro," Peter said, gripping Hiro's arm with his sweaty hand. "Please, I need to go back and warn her. I have to reverse what I did during that lesson. I'm sorry… I never told you."

"Told me…?" Hiro turned and gripped Peter's shoulders. "What did you do in the past Peter? What did you do when Claude was training you with my powers?"

Then, a heartfelt look appeared in his eyes. He smiled weakly as the faint memory washed over him. "I saw her… Claire. She was magnificent." Then the wondrous expression on his face changed and contorted into a horrible grimace. He shook his head. "I should have never touched her."

Hiro's eyes widened, and everyone mirrored his dread. Nathan came up behind a speechless Hiro and gave his brother an infuriated look. Peter hated that look, but it was just as well – he felt he deserved worse. He stared cautiously into his brother's fiery eyes, and he almost could feel the knives on his ears as his brother spoke.

"Peter, what did you do to Claire in the past?"

"I saved her… again. And she was happy to see me, and starry-eyed… just like she always is." Then he dropped his head in his hands and began to weep. "I'm sorry, everyone.

"That time when I went back, Claire and I…we made love."


	3. The Champion's Laurel

**AN: Sorry if you're having any difficulty understanding what's going on based on all the time traveling and memory jumps. I hope it will make more sense soon. Thanks for the support!**

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Playing Minerva

Chapter Two: The Champion's Laurel

_Back in the present…_

Claire Bennet began to doze comfortably to the steady motions of the bus. The last image outside her seat window was of the midland Texas terrain, quickly becoming more lush and green as the bus trekked its way northeast through Dallas. While passing through the brightly lit city, Claire began to feel more at peace as she began to accept that by this time, her father already knew that she had run away from home.

She only hoped that the Haitian escaped her father's grasp, for she would not let his gift to her be wasted away. Yawning silently, she settled comfortably against her frog-shaped pillow and looked around the bus one last time just to see everyone else asleep. Her eyes began to close slowly, and after the bus went over a pesky bump, she felt slumber began to creep upon her.

Though as she closed her eyes, she felt the speed of the bus slightly pick up, continuing to rise faster and faster. She opened her eyes and noticed the other passengers rousing from it as well. Looking out her window, the night sky was dark and lit by dull stars, and she saw just a smidgen of color paint the bottom line of the horizon.

"What's going on?" asked a young mother, who had gotten on the bus in Dallas. Her young son clutched her tightly as he stared at the driver with wide eyes.

"Damn it, someone's been following us since we left Odessa," groaned the bus driver, frantically looking at her mirrors. "I thought it was nothing, but they keep speeding up and riding my butt."

"Just be careful! It's probably nothing, so please don't get too flustered," said the single woman who had been on since Odessa; she looked mindfully at the young mother and her son, and then back to Claire. The older couple and teen-aged boy had gotten off in Dallas, so the only passengers now were Claire, the young mother and her son, and the single woman. The bus driver looked back at them in her mirror.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But this black van is just very aggressive."

Claire felt her heart freeze, and she was fearful that her father's people were tracking her running away.

Suddenly the bus lurched forward, and everyone hung onto their seats as someone slammed them from behind again.

"Shit!" the bus driver yelled. "What the hell do these people want? I should pull over."

"Please don't! What if they're dangerous people? I don't want them to hurt my son," the mother pleaded desperately, and the bus driver looked at her with sympathy. Everyone was scared, but mostly, Claire felt guilty for bringing such luck upon these innocent people.

Claire shut her eyes as the bus was hit again, and she heard cursing from the driver as she tried to keep control of the wheel. Everyone held on tightly as the bus began to swerve, and as it sped up, each minute everyone's fear heightened around her.

Suddenly, the bus driver screamed, and the bus swerved to the right, off the highway and then roughly back onto the pavement.

"What… is that a man?" the bus driver said, and the van slammed into her again and broke her concentration. She began to drive off the road over the yellow line when she frantically looked back with fear.

"Look out!" Claire yelled, pointing at the front. The bus driver gasped, grabbed the wheel and turned it swiftly to the right – too far – as an oncoming semi honked at them for the near miss. As soon as Claire felt the bus lose its balance and fall to its side, she jumped, grabbing the mother and son protectively into her arms and then pushing them into the large woman, and then pushing her onto her back. She didn't have time to catch the bus driver, and then the bus started to roll. In Claire's protective grasp the mother and son began to scream, and the large single woman struggled as Claire used all her strength to keep her down and protected by the bus's floor.

"It's going to be okay!" Claire screamed to them, and she could feel glass and pieces of metal pierce her skin. Several seats became disjointed and banged her around, on her back, on her head, and even on her legs. She could feel internal bleeding in her stomach, and she coughed it out involuntarily on the people she was protecting. They whimpered below her, horrified that she was taking a beating for them. Then Claire heard a loud screech of the metal on pavement as the bus slid along the highway into the ditch.

When the overturned bus was finally inert, Claire opened her eyes and breathed heavily, feeling the piercing pain of glass and metal violating her body. She knew she'd regenerate, so her first concern became the passengers she saved. She felt horrible that she did not get to save the bus driver but was thankful at least she managed to protect some.

"Are you alright?" she called to them, and the mother nodded to her as her son continued to cry. She had mild cuts, and the child only seemed rattled, virtually free of injury. The large woman below her made a noise that sounded like a yes, but Claire still wondered if she might be injured once she stood up.

Standing up, she helped the mother and son to their feet. Tapping into some leftover adrenaline, she dislodged a window that was already half broken, and led them through. As Claire got off the single woman, she slowly stood up and followed the son and mother out the window as well. When Claire came out, they waited for her and looked at her in wonder.

"Miss, are you alright? What…" the mother asked, looking at her and seeing Claire somewhat scratched up, but basically intact. "What did you do?"

"I'm fine, but let's go look for the bus driver." Claire wanted to divert them from her abilities as much as she could and tried to focus on saving the victims. She felt it was especially her fault since the black van chasing them was probably in league with her father. Looking around at the busy highway, she squinted and didn't see the black van anywhere. She was hoping they had taken off away from the scene, but she was cautious, fearful that they could be hiding and watching as she tended the crash.

The mother held her son closely and the single woman followed her as Claire ran ahead, looking for the driver. When she finally found her, she was badly banged up after being flung through a broken window and thrown out the bus. She wasn't moving, and Claire quickly ran to her and checked her pulse. The survivors looked on behind, watching for a response. The look on Claire's face immediately told them the results were bad.

"She's dead," Claire said softly, not able to stop the tears coming down her face. She bit on her shaky lip and cried, "I couldn't save her."

The single woman ran up to her and put her hand on her arm. "But you saved us. We don't know how you did, and how you walked away with barely a scratch, but you saved us."

"Yes, and you saved my son. He's only two. You saved him and gave him a chance to grow up," the mother said. She had tears in her eyes, and Claire could feel an overwhelming surge of gratitude in her eyes. "Young lady, you're a hero."

She smiled weakly, but their gratitude did not erase that someone was dead. It did not change that the cause of this accident was because she ran away.

"Please, don't mention it," she said quietly. "Just call 9-1-1, and tell them what happened. Let them know that someone has died."

"What about you?" asked the single woman, who noticed that Claire had picked what belongings she could find out of the wreckage and then headed away from the crash. "They're going to need to know a full report. You can't leave."

"I have to. I'm sorry, but I can't be seen here. I'm a runaway," Claire admitted, but she didn't admit that the crash could have been her fault.

The single woman looked at her with sympathy, and the mother's eyes widened. Claire gave them one last look before she turned away. She could hear sirens in the distance, and it seemed without their call, someone had told the police about the crash.

"I'm sorry. Please, don't mention me. I don't want anyone to find me."

The single woman nodded and then looked over at the mother who nodded as well. "We'll think of something. It's the least we can do for what you've done."

Claire smiled at the women, and the boy had finally quieted down and had held out his hand. Claire squeezed his little fingers lightly, and she smiled widely to prevent herself from crying. She felt a deep sorrow inside her gut, and she looked once more to the ground at the woman she failed to save. She turned away, and took off back down the highway. The horizon was now washed in darkness, and the cool Texas air nipped at her skin.

'Is this how a hero feels like when she learns she cannot save them all?' And her thoughts turned back to Peter for a moment, and she wondered if he, too, ever failed before.

---

Claire was tired of sticking her thumb out for hitching. Even with her amazing healing ability, it did not prevent her from getting tired. Besides, she felt she had been walking forever. The air was definitely colder, and she was sure it had been at least the early morning. She wished she could turn her cell phone on to see the time, but her battery was almost dead, and she wanted to conserve the remaining power for when she got to New York.

So she stuck her hands in her sweater, put down the towel from her bag, and sat down to rest, watching for any car that whizzed by. She looked down at the highway, and she noticed that her night vision had kicked in and everything had seemed lighter.

She squinted her eyes as she noticed something dark, and then shook her head. 'Okay, Claire; now you're seeing things. Now shadows are walking down the street toward you…" She paused, and then her eyes widened. "Shadows…!"

She jumped up, grabbed her towel and shoved it into her bag. She took one look over her shoulder and then ran toward some cluster of trees not too far over the terrain. The shadow seemed to be moving faster, and as it got closer, Claire turned around and noticed that it was a person running after her.

She dreaded that it could be a person that worked for her dad.

She knew this person couldn't really hurt her, but being captured and taken back was a worse fate than being attacked.

"Wait!" the shadow shouted at her, and she thought that this person must be stupid to think that line would work on someone you were trying to assault.

So she ran faster, hoping she could hide in the small cluster of trees ahead of her, hoping she could find a big stick and …

"Claire!" the person yelled, and though it was obvious the person _did_ know her, there was something off about his voice.

Claire stopped. She hoped she wasn't dreaming. 'It couldn't be…'

She turned around and looked for the shadow, now becoming visible and fleshed out as he ran toward her.

"Peter…?" she asked, and when he came up no more than ten feet away from her, she turned around and sprinted toward him. She jumped and he caught her in a quick embrace as she wrapped her arms and legs around him in overwhelming excitement. He laughed with relief in her ear, and he twirled her around as she held onto him.

When he finally put her down, she cupped his face and took a ragged breath. "Peter… is it really you?" Her voice choked with tears.

"Claire… what are you…? Where is this place?" He put his hands over hers, and Claire realized the look of confusion on his face.

"I don't know…" Claire laughed. "I was on a bus coming from Odessa going to New York. It crashed and I've been walking ever since."

Peter got a thoughtful look on his face and didn't answer her right away. Finally he said, "Oh, I remember that time…"

"Peter, you're not making sense," Claire said, pulling him toward her to look him in the face. "Are you feeling okay? How can you not know where you are? Did you drive here?"

"No, Claire… I'm fine. It's just that …I'm not who you think I am."

"What?" Claire looked at him incredulously and then backed away. She was concerned for him. He seemed ill and confused, as if he had head trauma. "What are you saying?"

He turned to her and looked at her seriously. He was smiling, and there was this accomplished look in his eye. "Claire, it's amazing … I've been practicing my powers, but I didn't mean to end up here … it just happened." He paused, and Claire looked at him perplexed like she still didn't understand him. "Claire, I had tried to tell you once before about my powers. I don't heal like you do… I borrow powers from others." She nodded, and she had found that out from the Haitian. She watched him closely as he continued to speak. "So I borrowed powers from this guy Hiro, who can bend time.

"Claire… I'm from the future."

Claire thought her jaw was going to drop. Her eyes seem to bug out of her head. She only hoped that he wasn't crazy, but she hated to doubt Peter. She had been thinking about him so much since she met him, and even though she didn't know him that well, she felt he couldn't do anything wrong or tell any lies.

"What…? Someone can do that?" Her surprise made him smirk. "Wow, no way."

He nodded sheepishly, staring at her. Claire noticed he was full of relief at meeting her here.

"So… you borrowed some guy's powers to come back in time to see me?" Claire asked, but her face paled. "Am I in trouble again?"

Peter shook his head, and then he looked out to the desert. "No, I'm sorry but I didn't come for you… I just sorta ended up here." He looked at her earnestly and then shrugged. "My powers are still unstable, and this guy Claude, he's been helping me develop and become stronger." He stopped and then bit his lip, and Claire could tell he wanted to tell her so much more. "Look, Claire, I can't tell you very much about the future; Hiro said that time is very delicate. So I can only tell you so much." She nodded at him when she understood, and he continued to speak. He laughed a little nervously and said, "I don't even know how long I can stay here before I pop myself back to my right time. To tell you the truth, since I've jumped to here, I've been bouncing all over the place, especially in this terrain." Claire watched him as he paused again and gave her a thoughtful look. "And no matter how much I try to concentrate and take myself back or somewhere else, I always keep coming back here."

Claire shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and said, "Why?" Her voice sounded small, but Peter smiled when he heard her. He looked like he was keeping some awesome secret, and there was something different… no, evolved in the way he kept watching her.

Did something happen in the future between them? She thought it was at least a relief to know that she finally made it to New York to see him anyway.

"I… I know you can't say much, Peter, but it seems to me that I must have made it to New York if you remember that about me," Claire said softly, staring at him. He seemed to be staring back at her with 'that look' again, and she wanted to challenge that. The only problem she was having was that sparks were going off inside her body when he looked at her or even touched her.

'Gees, I hardly know him,' she chided herself internally. But she couldn't deny that since he had swooped into her life she hadn't stop thinking about him. She hugged herself as a cool breeze whisked over her skin, and Peter had noticed right away. He scrambled to get closer to her, and Claire froze as he began removing his large black sweater and then giving it to her.

"Sorry, you must be cold," he said, and she slowly took the sweater and clutched it to her chest. He looked to her with compassion and frowned. "I'm sorry about the bus crash. I did see it. It was one of the times when I was bouncing around with Hiro's teleportation powers. I had no discipline, and I'm afraid that after I appeared on the road, your bus went out of control."

"So there was a man on the road…" Claire said, remembering the late bus driver's words. Seeing Peter's sadness, she squeaked and then got his attention. "Oh! Oh no Peter that wasn't your fault." Peter looked at her skeptically, and she assumed he thought she was only trying to cheer him up. "It's the truth. Someone was crashing into the back of the bus and the driver got flustered and swerved. She said she saw a man on the road, but by then she had already lost control."

Peter hung his head down and stared at the ground. "This is bad. No one's from the past is supposed to see me. I mean, I know _you_ see me, but you know me and I can trust you to keep this between us…right?"

She looked at him, and she felt dumb because her mouth was hanging open. She didn't know why she was acting so flustered around him, not since she had run away from home to see him in the first place. "You … you trust me?" she asked, feeling her throat dry up from the anxiety.

Peter gave one of his crooked smiles. "Of course. You saved my life, Claire Bennet. You're my hero."

She was speechless. She had a million things she wanted to say to him and …well, she had a million hugs she wanted to give him, but she just couldn't jumpstart the motion yet, and she stood there silently and awkwardly in front of him.

Finally, she broke the heavy atmosphere and playfully punched him on the arm. She gave him a winning smile, rolled her eyes and said, "Silly, you're _my_ hero."

He grinned, chuckling a little and then looking away shyly. Claire thought it was cute that an older man (not much older she hoped) would act like that because of her.

"Well," he said, obviously diverting the conversation – and ruining the forming moment – and looking ahead. "It's late, and you probably need to rest. While I was popping around this area, I found an abandoned shack over in those trees. So uh… we should at least seek shelter for the night."

"Right," Claire nodded, looking away and feeling deluded that anything would come between them out of that simple flirtation. However, she was certain she had seen him look at her knowingly, and she intended to find out more about what he knew … and what he felt.

And she didn't care about some geeky-jabber-time talk that she couldn't learn the future. Didn't she know enough already? So what did it matter?

"Let's go, Claire," Peter said, bringing her out of her daze and then tugging her arm. "This way."

She nodded, and she picked up her pace to walk beside him.


	4. Justice, The Chariot, The Lovers

**AN: Sorry FFnet readers, I had to cut out the smut scene because they don't allow that here. I AM, however, warning any other readers that there ARE "R" rated situations here between a consenting seventeen-year old minor and a consenting adult. If that's not your cuppa, then you can read part of the chapter, stop at the scene, and then wait for the next. For those of you pervs out there, I have the full unedited scene at my writing journal, quirkysmuse, at Livejournal. You can find the link to it on my profile page.**

* * *

_Justice – The bright red sky symbolizes her rising strength and power of her righteousness._

_The Chariot – A ruthless determined warrior in blue armor stands erect and alert to impending danger_

_The Lovers – The two lovers are together yet remain emotionally apart._

_The Witches Tarot, VI, VII, VIII of the Major Arcana_

Playing Minerva

Chapter Three: Justice, The Chariot, The Lovers

Every time Claire brushed her arm against Peter's, she felt a flood of warmth electrify her senses. Peter, on the other hand, made a strong effort to keep focused without ever meeting her eyes. Claire could see he was hiding something, and he swallowed uncomfortably as she made every motion to brush against him.

Finally, Claire gave up – for now – on getting a reaction out of him, and she sighed audibly as they trudged along in the Texas grassland, heading toward to the location of the abandoned shack.

Although, it was going to be difficult enough staying the night in some shack alone with Peter, and she inwardly chided herself for having such ideas.

'He's not even the _right_ Peter – he's the Peter from the future,' she thought, reminding herself. And whether or not she accepted t hat, Claire easily forgot her thoughts as she watched his hair lightly flutter over his smooth olive jaw. Groaning inwardly, her mind began to wrestle between her obvious crush and her sensible maturing mind.

"I can see it just ahead," he said with a hopeful voice, jarring her out of her thoughts.

She made a noncommittal noise beside him and continued to stare at the moving grassy ground beneath her feet. She glanced ahead for a moment, seeing only a mesh of unsaturated hues around the blurred shack in the distance. Squinting, she swore she saw movement, and her knee-jerk reaction was to grab a hold of Peter's arm.

She heard him sigh as she pulled him back, and he began to speak chidingly to her, "Claire, we need to talk about…"

"Shh!" she commanded, putting a hand over his mouth. She shook off the feeling of his lips against her fingers and focused on the current situation. She pulled him back to hide behind towering bushes, and she looked him sternly in the eye. She hissed at him barely above a whisper. "Be quiet! I think I saw people at that shack."

Peter gave her a quizzical look and said, "But it was abandoned…"

"Dummy! Remember how I told you I was being followed?" He nodded, a little surprised she called him a 'dummy'. "Well, the black van that was ramming into the bus had disappeared after the crash." She took a cautious peek at the shack, and then met his gaze again. "It seems like they're still looking for me." She looked around, and her chest hurt as she tried not to panic. "They must have been watching for me after the cops came to the scene. They probably knew I would run off and not want to be spotted."

"So they think you're going to find shelter for the night," Peter said, finally understanding her. He put his hands on her shoulders in a protective stance and turned his head to survey the shack again. "This must be the only place you could possibly go within distance of the crash and in that amount of time."

Claire nodded with a fierce look on her face. Instinctively, she leaned into Peter's protective warmth. They both paused, caught in the moment and unsure on what to do next. Anxiety heightened, and the voices sounded louder as Claire's pursuers' began to spread a wider search.

"I'm so sick of running," she said in a low voice, and Peter could feel the pain and frustration emanating from her.

"Claire… I know this is not what you're used to, but it's only going to get tougher."

"Don't tell me that!" she hissed at him, backing away. "I don't mean just the running just these past few days. I mean the running from who I _am_." Her voice began to get louder from her anger, and he rubbed her shoulders to soothe her down. She lifted her chin and gave him a hard stare. "You're right, Peter. You're right."

He looked at her confused, not sure exactly what she meant. "Claire… I."

She withdrew from his embrace and stepped back. Her jaw tightened, and she dug her heels in the dirt. "I'm tired of running from my powers. I'm tired of needing to be saved." Peter looked at her dumbfounded and she added, "No offense."

"What are we going to do, then?"

"_We_ are going to do nothing. _I_, on the other hand, am going to send them away."

"Claire no!" Peter said, almost in a scream, and Claire shushed him again to not blow their cover. His hands were on her shoulders again and he leaned in close to her face and gave her a warning look. "You don't need to do this alone."

"I can, and I will." Claire smiled and shook her head. She put her hands over Peter's and gave them a quick squeeze. "Look, you can't be seen in this time, right? I can't risk them finding you. They're my father's people, and of course he's researched you by now so you can't afford to have his men see you. Your current self will be in danger. Trust me on this, Peter."

"Claire…I can't agree to it. It'll put you in danger. I can't imagine what this event will do to time and space…" She stopped him before he could talk her out of it anymore and she gave him a reassuring look. "This time… I'll protect both of us." She paused, and she waited for him to agree. Hesitantly, he nodded once and a smile erupted on her face.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Tell me about the terrain around the shack. Is there any place for cover, anything I should be aware of before I go blazing in there smashin' 'em up?"

Peter gave her a crooked grin and then said, "Well, there's a lot of trees in front, but as you go toward the back, it goes down hill. I think even part of the foundation of the place starts to drop off."

"Like a ravine?"

"Yeah."

Claire got a calculated look on her face, one that Peter began to question.

"Claire… whatever you decide to do, you need to be careful," he said cautioning her.

She cocked her head at him and put a bold hand on his cheek. "I know. Just stop worrying." He froze to her touch and locked with her eyes. "You're going to help me too."

"How? Without being seen?" Claire nodded right away.

"Can you cause a distraction or something? Maybe you can do something with those time powers?"

Peter shook his head, and Claire bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Claire. I'm just testing out these powers. I have barely any control of them."

Claire nodded sharply and said, "Okay, then, throwing rocks will have to do."

Peter sighed, and then he watched the strain of emotion on her face.

'I have to do this,' she said, inwardly encouraging herself. 'I'm good at this. I'm not _just_ a cheerleader to be saved.'

Peter's attention snapped on her as she bolted to the scene. At first, it was a wonder she didn't grab her pursuers' attentions right away, but then as she jumped and jabbed some of them quickly as she ran, people started scrambling toward her. Peter's ears perked when he heard warning shots, and he heard a feminine squeal. He looked over to her position with worry, and he stopped himself before he made a move.

'Trust me, Peter.' He remembered her word, and he was going to trust in her – even if leaving her in there by herself was tearing him up inside.

Then Claire yelled, "You've got me okay? This is what you want? You want to take me back to my father?"

The lead commander came in front of his soldiers and approached her cautiously with a hand out. "Now Ms. Bennett, it's time to go back home your father. He's waiting at home, and once you get there, he'll take care of you. He won't hurt you."

"Oh yeah?" She stood before the precipice behind her and clenched her jaw. "He'll just try to erase my memories just like before! I don't buy it! I'm not going back with you." Her father's men were silent, and their attention followed her eyes to the ravine. Everyone stopped in their tracks and Claire gambled. She knew her father must have instructed these people only to catch her, not kill her. She wondered how protective her father was and whether he would freely disclose the nature of her powers to his underlings.

It was a gamble she had to take.

"I'll jump! I'd rather die than go back!"

"Now Ms. Bennett…please…" The leading officer was definitely worried that she'd fall down that ravine and get hurt. It was obvious he didn't know about her 'condition'. Claire saw slow movement begin to encircle her, and she was sure people were going to try and pounce on her before she could jump.

Peter watched with intensity, and even though these people didn't know that they couldn't hurt Claire, he certainly didn't want them to catch her and take her back! That would throw the entire time line off.

He looked to Claire, and she seemed to be hesitant and nervous, watching the commander as he spoke to her and trying to watch what the others were doing at the same time. Peter knew she could take them all on if they lunged at her.

It was his turn to react. Claire was definitely in trouble.

Buried in his thoughts, Claire screamed, and there was a scramble of people running toward her. Peter knew that he'd never make it to her in time to save her – he was too far away. But he wanted to save her – with all his might, but Claire wouldn't have it, and she wanted to protect his identity from these dangerous people on her own.

Peter knew Claire was strong. Claire was _Claire_, and no matter if she was future-Claire or past-Claire, she was still _his_ Claire, and if he didn't protect her now, then protecting her back when they first met would be meaningless.

If he didn't protect her now, there would be no _future_ Claire. There would be no _his _Claire, and Peter was sure if he missed his chance now, that her father would erase her memories – and he erase everything he had grown to know and love about her.

He wondered – what would a future be without Peter and Claire – together?

So Peter shut his eyes in pain – oh, the worst pain he has ever felt – and the screaming stopped, Claire's fear froze, and the cold night air became colder, and the world seemed to slide into stasis.

Peter felt a pinch in his gut, his innards rejecting the moment, and he opened his eyes and gasped for breath.

Time had stopped.

Peter looked around, hesitantly, watching as things were colored gray and inert. The people who were after Claire were caught in a snapshot, and even Claire had stopped, her face contorted in fear and hopelessness.

Peter smiled, took a deep breath, and ran to her. He laughed a little, his excitement growing, and as he wrapped his arms around a time-frozen Claire, he pulled her out of the way and thought of a warm future where Claire was never away from his embrace. Closing his eyes again, he heard a 'pop' and he and Claire were back in their hiding place, and the people that were lunging for Claire, were now grasping for nothing.

Time warmed up again, and the people's voices returned. The cold breezed against his skin, and he muffled Claire's scream against his chest. He felt her shiver, almost jump from his arms, and then look up at him in wonder. He couldn't help the smarmy, assured smirk that had enveloped his mouth.

"Peter…?"

Screams rang out, and Peter and Claire quickly looked to the shack where the people had lunged at Claire. Given their momentum, without grabbing Claire back, all people but one darted off the edge of the ravine. The lonely survivor looked down as his commander and comrades fell down the precipice, bellowing in agony as bones and bodies were snapped and crushed on the tumble down.

Horrified, Claire looked away, and Peter held her tightly as she wept against his chest. He heard the last survivor of the group radio into a higher commander, asking for medical assistance and a pick up at their location.

"Oh my God, Peter. Did we… did those people die?" Claire had seen more of her share of dead people that day, and it hit her again that she was the cause of it. Peter looked at her sadly and grasped her tightly.

"Shh… Claire, it's not your fault. You were just protecting yourself."

"And you?" She looked at him, desperate for any of his wisdom on the event.

He cupped her jaw and looked at her with hope. "I was protecting our future."

And Claire was speechless, and a warm shiver ran throughout her body. She licked her lips and tried so hard to stay grounded. But she couldn't, and she felt faint and leaned against him, her hero – always.

"Let's go. We can't stick around here if they're calling for backup."

"But where can we go? I thought this was the last place for shelter."

Peter looked ahead to the ravine knowingly and replied, "There's somewhere else, but we're going to have to go beyond that shack to get there."

Claire gasped. "No good. That person will see us. Besides… at the bottom of the ravine…" She swallowed, shut her tightly, and tried not to imagine the people's contorted faces of death at the bottom.

Peter was silent, but then he said with confidence, "I think… I think I can bend us there."

"_Bend_?"

"Yeah… bend time and space…only this would be space."

Claire shook her head. "But I thought you didn't have a grasp of it."

He gave her a confident look and lifted his chin this time. "I think I got it this time."

Claire nodded slowly and then huffed. "You're sure confident of yourself, aren't you?"

Peter didn't say anything, and as Claire still clung to him, he rocked into her playfully and gave her a coy smile. He watched with inward satisfaction as her face flushed from the intimate motion. He gripped his arms tighter around her waist and then bent down to her ear. "Ready?" he whispered. But Claire was so shocked she could only nod meekly against him.

Suddenly, they were both snagged in a sticky, suffocating sort of bubble, and snapped like a rubber band across a reality they had never fathomed.

--

"Well, this is homey," Claire said sardonically as she surveyed the small cavern. Their new, temporary shelter was small, with a small cavern carved into the ravine far from the shack by a long winding river.

"I'm just glad there are no bats," Peter said in skittishness, and Claire laughed at him.

"Big strong Super Boy scared of a little bat."

Peter huffed at her. "Okay, country gal, don't tell me there's nothing you're afraid of."

Claire smiled sheepishly and then said, "Oh, the usual, spiders, lying fathers, and raping quarterbacks. Normal things any country gal would shriek at."

The humor stopped when she saw the color drain from Peter's face, and he looked at her chidingly. "Don't joke about that Claire, gees."

"Hn," she harrumphed, rolling her eyes. "So the future-me told you about that incident in high school." She looked over at him, and his dark eyes seem to blanket her with protectiveness. She looked away and rolled her long sleeves over her hands. "I bet you were pretty shocked."

"Yes," he answered in a sharp breath, obviously not wanting to continue the conversation. "It was a horrible event."

Claire nodded, only to have them submerge in awkward silence. Peter poked randomly at the unsuccessful fire he was making out of damp twigs and moss. He swore under his breath as the fire died out for the third time.

"Here, city boy," Claire said, grabbing some paper from her bag and crumpling it up over the fire. She threw in the hair from her hair brush, and then lit the paper with a lighter. The flame ignited through the hair and paper, and soon the heat and ash began to dry up the moss and twigs underneath. The fire became steady, and Peter watched Claire as she stared at the fire.

"I would have smashed his face in, you know, if I was there," Peter said, breaking through the silence.

"My father?"

"No, the quarterback," Peter said, smirking awkwardly at her, and she rewarded him with an appreciative smile.

She shook her head and then hugged her knees. "I wouldn't have wanted you to do that. It's not how I know you to be."

Peter smiled, entranced by the reflection of the fire on her bronzed skin. She lifted her eyes from the fire to his. He asked, "So how do you, the past-Claire, know me to be?"

She licked her lips and inhaled a draught of breath. "Well, I know you to be kind, selfless, and you put your own safety before others. You're a nice guy, the one that doesn't always win, but never loses. You're the guy that everyone expects to save a party from doomed silence, but one no expects to fly miles across the country to save a stranger." She paused, and then cocked her head and smiled at him lovingly. "To me, you're the last man born pure of heart – the man I would trust before my own father."

Peter could see tears in her eyes now, and she frantically wiped them away, diverting her attention back to the fire. She hugged herself as her body felt a chill – not from the cold, but from the stress of betrayal that weighed heavily upon her heart. She hadn't had time to deal with it – to let the feelings come out, to really see the pain from an open wound caused by a man she had trusted her whole life.

Peter slid over to her, slowly closing the gap between them and then taking her into his arms. She cried against him, and he was silent, rubbing her arms soothingly and offering his warmth.

"Thank you," she whispered, and she looked up shyly as she noticed her lips were so close to his chin now.

"It's okay; you can let it all out now," he said, and although she knew he was just comforting her, desire burned within her, and with his soothing touches and comforting whispers, she felt so completely full and she longed to give him more than he could ever want from her.

As a stranger, he had saved her.

As a time-traveler, he had saved her. Again.

He was more than human, and he made her believe in angels. He made her believe in herself, and the day her father betrayed her, she knew she had one other person she could fall back on – and it was him.

And he needed much more of a reward than just saving a life or helping a girl grow into her own powers.

She had to give him more.

She bent down to his chin and placed a feather-light kiss there, and she repeated, "Thank you." Peter froze, but he didn't push her aside as she snuggled into him, her body heat surrounding him and pushing him for more.

"Claire… I…" She didn't respond and he said nothing more, and some otherworldly gravity drew them into each other, his lips melting into hers.

The moment their lips touched, Fate was fierce, forcing them through a thinly veiled window of desire. Claire touched him, hands molding around his body and feeling his masculine angles through his clothes. He slipped his fingers through her blond hair and then traced her jaw line delicately with his eager fingers. He felt her hands move over his chest as he deepened the kiss, moaning as he felt her tug at his shirt and slip her chilled hands softly over his warm skin.

Claire nipped at him in-between kisses, catching his tongue playfully and awkwardly as she smiled against his mouth. She felt him lean her to the ground, pushing her lightly on her back as he continued to kiss her. He shifted his weight, and hovered over her, slipping a hand underneath the sweater she borrowed from him, and then finally under her own shirt against warm flesh. Claire gasped in his mouth, a motion that made him pause. He broke their kiss, earning a noise of disappointment. He looked down, and realized he had inched his knee in-between her legs as he towered over her.

He hesitated.

"Claire … we can't… this isn't right."

"Oh, God…," she groaned, looking around the cavern walls and then rubbing her hands over his chest. "How can you say this is wrong?" She looked at him, cupping his cheek with her hand. He rubbed her hand against him as she gave him a pained look. "I can't deny how I feel about you. You can't deny how you've been staring at me all night long!"

"Claire, you don't know me… not in this time. In this time…I'm not the same man. There's been time between us that hasn't happened for you yet. And here, now, my past self is with someone else. He hasn't even developed feelings for you yet."

"I don't care! I only know what I'm feeling for you… the only Peter now." She crouched upward, and captured his lips again, giving him a desperate, searing kiss.

"No, Claire," he said, pushing her gently away. And she met his gaze sternly.

"Please, Peter, tell me that there's something here… or that there will be."

"I can't!"

"Then why did you let me kiss you?"

Peter backed slowly off her and sat beside her. She sat up with him, watching his eyes carefully as he replied.

"I…" He couldn't deny it any longer, and she appeared hurt. Damn, and she was so young, and he couldn't deny that something about this situation was wrong, and if he let it escalate, he couldn't even fathom the things that would change in time. "I can't do this because I'm not supposed to be here," he answered sternly. "I don't know how one night with you will affect tomorrow." He looked at her desperately. "Don't you understand? If I make love to you tonight…I don't know what it's going to do, especially because I'm not from this time." He buried his face in his hands and said, "I can't risk abusing Hiro's powers. I have to learn responsibility from them. I can't…"

Claire looked at him in agony. She almost hated herself for thinking Peter would do anything less than noble in this situation. He was first and foremost true, and if the fate of many outweighed the power of one beautiful, selfish night, he would choose the right thing to do because it was in his nature to do so.

"But what about the things you've already done?" Claire said. She hated to play devil's advocate, but she, unlike Peter, felt selfish in this instance. She had lost so much, friends and family, in just a few days and all she had was Peter. And even though this journey she took was for her to learn how to accept her powers, she was still human.

Moreover, after all that her future Peter has done in the past so far, nothing much more would affect it any better or worse.

"I don't know," Peter cried, and Claire began inching closer to him. She laid her head over his shoulder. "I just don't know. I'm sure I fucked up royally being seen by that bus, or that I used Hiro's powers to stop time and save you. I'm sure I just fucked up even by helping you out." With those words, he felt even miserable as he saw tears form in Claire's eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't know."

He sighed and then said, "I wish I could just say that if I take you, right here and right now, time couldn't get any worse."

Claire shifted her position and looked at him square in the face. She moved closer, centimeters from his nose. "Then just say it, Peter."

"Claire…" he tried to protest, but she cut him off with a finger to his lips. He groaned at the urge to taste it.

She still looked determined, and she said, "If you let me give you this night, I promise to forget it. I'll bury it deep, and when I find you in New York, I'll pretend not to care that you have someone. I'll pretend not to be hurt when you have to get to know me all over again."

She paused, and he looked at her tempted to her proposal. Finally she said with a choked sob, "When I find you, I'll pretend that I don't love you."

Her words filled him deeply, singing a plea he could never deny. She leaned hesitantly into him again; unsure if he would push her away.

But this time, he didn't. And all constraints of duty and time fell away with the soft howl of the wind.

"Claire," he moaned. "I wish you didn't have to pretend."

"I will pretend, just not tonight," she cooed against him in-between kisses. He grabbed her head and pulled her close, delving his tongue deeper into her mouth. He still knew it was wrong, but it felt _ohsogood_ to be wrong, and to take her when she was young and ripe, and he was wicked for taking her, for wanting her back when she was so naïve and giving him everything that she had.

Clothes fell away with their inhibitions, and he enveloped her in a possessive heat. He felt the pull of her power sing in his blood and block the chill from the night against his skin. And when he touched her, his aches and pains from the day healed, and in her satisfied laughter his ears buzzed, and with borrowed powers he pulled them into a comfortable heated blanket of time. The cave, the cold Texas terrain, and the stark reality of her past faded away.

Her hands roamed around his skin, feeling every crevice, every groove of his lean frame. She delighted in him, experimenting with strokes around the perfect dip in his back, the ridges of his strong spine, and the coarseness of his brambles of hair. Claire knew he was so very adult – so very masculine, and she could never go back to mediocre high school boys again.

---

The fire smoldered, and they were back in the cave once again. Peter held onto her, and he remained inside her as she embraced against him. She continued to shiver as aftershocks from their lovemaking resonated within their post-coital heat. Shifting slowly, Peter moved out of her and pulled her into his embrace. She was silent, catching her breath and reveling in the moment between them.

"Claire…" Peter started, but he didn't think Claire would appreciate him telling her that this was probably a mistake. He paused.

She yawned lightly and continued to snuggle against him. Tiredly, she said, "I don't know if I can pretend to forget this so easily."

He said nothing, and the worries he had before returned fresh in his mind. He frowned as he continued to hold Claire. As much as Peter would admit that this had been wrong, he could not deny its beauty and that he would do it all over again.

Shifting lightly, he looked at Claire, only to notice her closed eyes and even breathing. She was already asleep, and there was a glow of pure contentment on her face.

_He_ had brought her that contentment, which gave him a sense of pride.

He sighed, feeling impending slumber as Claire's scent surrounded him. He moved her beach towel over them, and brought her closer against his chest.

And when sleep took him, he couldn't help but notice the worry in the back of his brain, nagging him about how really bad this could turn.


	5. Minding the Little Things

**AN: This is an AR offshoot from the episode "Fallout", 01x11.**

* * *

Playing Minerva

Chapter Four: Minding the Little Things

The songs of cardinals filled her ears, and she roused as morning sunlight warmed her face. Claire felt secondary warmth encasing her, and she noticed that Peter was still with her, holding her as he slept. Smiling softly to herself, she snuggled closer to him and traced a finger down his nose.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she said in a light whisper. Peter groaned a little, blinking his eyes open.

After waking, he moved back startled, and then he relaxed under her touch when he realized who it was. There was a mixed look of regret and serenity on his face. Claire was sure he regretted last night to a degree, but she felt a sense of completion when she looked into his eyes.

"Good morning," she murmured. Her face moved toward his, and she kissed him lightly on the lips.

With a crooked smile, he rubbed his hand down the length of her arm and said, "Morning."

"I'm surprised you're still here," Claire said, looking deeply into his eyes and smiling widely.

"Yeah… uh, I realized last night after… you know … that I had enough power and will to go back on my own, but I didn't want you to wake up alone." He looked around at their surroundings and then added, "I wanted to make sure you were safe here last night."

Claire felt touched, but it was nothing she didn't expect of Peter. He had always moved her in so many ways in just a short amount of time. She turned her head and looked out at the sunny morning sky. She frowned. "I wonder what time it is."

She still needed to conserve the batteries on her cell phone, so checking for the time was moot at this point. She glanced around the cavern, noticing their clothes lying in random piles everywhere. She giggled. "Wow, look what happened to our clothes!"

Peter continued to smirk, and Claire noticed a small blush on his cheeks. In turn she flushed as well, standing up and gathering her clothes awkwardly. Peter watched her dazedly as she started to put them back on.

"Stop staring, Peter," Claire squeaked meekly. "It's hard enough putting them back on with you over there …uh… watching me like that." Her eyes traveled down to his lap, still covered from the towel but bulging out at her.

Shaking his head, Peter laughed nervously and began to retrieve his garments as well. "Sorry..." he replied, and they both knew that one more heated look or awkward bout of silence might cause a repeat of last night's events. He cleared his throat and said, "Are you going to get going then?" He darted his eyes away from her quickly as she began to hook her bra.

"Yeah… um, I know that I'll have to walk, but I was thinking of hitchhiking, and that maybe some kind semi driver could get me a ride to the next town. I have enough money for another ticket, granted that I don't have to eat until I get to New York."

"No, Claire, you shouldn't hitch!" Peter exclaimed right away, and Claire looked at him with mild shock. "I mean, that's dangerous, and you won't know if it's one of your dad's employees trying to pick you up and take you home. I know that you won't have to walk too far. While I was traveling around here, I noticed the next town is only about a few miles or so away. I think it was called Grenwald or Grayville or..."

"Oh! That's Greenville! I'm only a few miles from there? That's wonderful! I can probably pick up a bus there," responded Claire, and her spirits returning.

The two of them, now fully dressed, got ready to leave. "I'll help you out of this ravine, but we're going to have to go up the old fashioned way – by walking. I'm afraid I don't have enough power left to take us to the highway and then get back to my own time."

Claire shrugged with a smile. "That's okay. The exercise should be good for me."

Peter was silent for a moment, and instead he just continued to stare at her. It was the same look he gave her when she visited him in jail, yet it was somewhat evolved, evoking emotions that were raw and new. "Claire Bennet, you're amazing."

"Aw… why Peter you have to stop saying so. You make me blush." She pulled him into her for a desperate hug, and he held her back tightly. Breaking free momentarily, he bent down and kissed her, filling her mouth with his tongue.

When they broke free, they both felt the sadness that lingered in their eyes, and neither one of them wanted to let go.

"Come on, Claire. Let's go," Peter said, offering his hand. She scrambled around the cave one last time for her things, and took his soft fingers into hers.

Peter made one last look backward, and then frowned. "Hey, you don't want to forget that, do you?"

Claire looked back and saw that her cell phone had fallen out of her bag.

"OH! Gees, thank you. I don't know what I'd do if I'd lost it. Ugh, now that would be something. If I didn't have this, how would I call you in New York?

Peter smiled at her, and Claire shoved her phone into her bag as they made their way out of the cavern. Peter held onto her hand tightly as they ventured up the ravine and back to the highway.

--

It had been several hours since she'd said goodbye to her time-traveling Peter. Claire was already feeling the loss of his warmth, his touch, and his crooked smile. She was sure he was back in his own time now, and things had to go back to normal. She knew that the Peter she was coming to see was different, and that she had to keep her promise to forget about last night. Her heart ached at the thought that Peter was with someone else, but she had confidence knowing that they would not last long.

Regardless, she had to keep her cool, say nothing, and go on with life as if last night didn't happen. She came to see Peter for a reason, and he was the only one who could help her learn more about her powers and use them for good.

Stepping off the Greyhound bus that had finally come to New York, she stretched her aching arms and legs, yawned and grabbed her pack. She stepped off the bus and made her way toward a pay phone, frowning and hoping her cell phone battery had enough juice.

Fishing it out of her bag, she turned the button on as her phone began to power up. She bit her lip hoping that she could make just one call before it died.

As the familiar beep indicated that the phone was on, Claire was startled as someone grabbed her from behind, clamped a hand over her mouth, and then pulled her aside to an alleyway.

--

_In the not too distant future..._

Nathan started pacing about the room hurriedly as his brother revealed the story – in much detail – at his time with Claire in the past. Many people in the room were speechless, and before Nathan could reprimand him, Matt came in with the radiation detector.

"He's not dangerous, but some of the levels will get dangerous if we don't do something. He could even have the chance of exploding all over again," Matt said grimly, and everyone looked at Peter sympathetically. He appeared worse, his clothes fully soaked in sweat and his breath erratic and harsh.

"We have to do something," Heidi pleaded looking at Nathan, who only seemed to glare at his brother.

"I don't understand how doing that would change time, especially if Claire never mentioned it later on," Mohinder said, stroking the stubble on his chin. "Did Claire ever mention the event before your sessions with Claude?"

Peter shook his head. "No, she never did. She kept her promise, and when I came from trying out Hiro's powers, she was waiting for me. She kept it a secret, but I still messed up something anyway."

"But what would prevent Claire from seeing Peter that day when she came to New York? What really happened?"

Peter took a deep breath and felt the strain on his temple. "I don't know. She came to New York that day, and then I got some strange call from a pay phone. It was Claire, and she told me what happened with her dad and why she ran away. I came right over to pick her up."

"Wait a minute..." Claude interrupted. He scrunched his face in confusion and continued, "Didn't you just say that when you helped Ms. Bennet to the highway she almost forgot her cell phone?"

"Er...yeah, it had fallen out of her back pack. She was about to leave it behind when…" Peter's eyes widened and a look of dread washed over his face. "Oh no, I did change the past!"

"It only takes one small thing to turn things off their path in time," Hiro confirmed nodding.

Ando lifted an eyebrow and said, "So if she used a pay phone instead …"

"Her dad wouldn't have been able to track her!" Mohinder finished. "That must mean that Claire from the past did not know her father would track the cell phone."

"And she got far enough to New York because the thing was turned off," Heidi responded. Everyone nodded and then looked to Peter.

"The moment she turned it on they must have been alerted. They were probably already scouting New York for her before she got there," Peter said sighing, and he put his face into his hands. He yelled dejectedly, "Damn it! This is all my fault."

Hiro put a soft hand on Peter's shoulder and replied, "We can change it, Peter. We have to, or you'll explode for real this time."

Peter looked up into Hiro's eyes and felt his strength. Hiro said, "I will go and warn, Ms. Claire."

Peter put a hand over Hiro's and squeezed. He looked at him with fortitude and said, "No, it's my fault, and I should fix it. Besides, _that_ Claire doesn't know you yet. I don't want her to be freaked out."

Hiro nodded. "You must be careful, Peter Petrelli. You already know what one little thing does to time and space."

Peter nodded, and he coughed harshly as he began to stand up out of the bed. Hiro rested Peter's weight on him, and then closed his eyes. Releasing his protective charkas to prevent Peter from unknowingly absorbing his powers, Hiro let himself open and felt the pull of Peter's power against him.

Peter stumbled away from him, now standing on his own feet. "I'm going," Peter said, and his friends looked at him with hope and anxiety.

"Be careful and don't screw up the past again," his brother chided. Peter turned around and gave his brother a crooked smile.

Peter closed his eyes, and then he was gone.

--

_Back in the present..._

Over time, Peter had finally mastered the control on Hiro's powers. Some would say that he mastered them better than Hiro had at first, but then Hiro had trained with Claude, and understood them even better. Peter was still getting used to the ethical code that came from using time powers, and he was glad, for the most part, that they were not his own.

He opened his eyes, and in a swoosh he found himself at a bus terminal in New York. He spotted Claire almost immediately as she played with her light blue sweater and waited for her cell phone to power up.

'Just in time...' Peter thought, feeling relief wash over him. Before she could begin dialing his number, he jumped toward her and pulled her into his chest. He clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent a surprised scream. Lightly, he brought her with him into the shadows of an alleyway. She shivered against him, terrified that a stranger was handling her. He turned her around and released his grip over her.

She looked up at him, ready to punch him and give him a few choice words, but then she realized whom it was. He groaned as she gave him a tight hug.

"Peter! Oh…" She was initially surprised, but then she saw that he was hurt and struggling on his feet. Claire held his arms, and tried to read his face. "You're hurt... what happened?"

"Do you know who I am?" he croaked out.

Claire froze, and then she nodded once. "You're...you're still Peter from the future?" She was becoming confused again, and she only guessed that he was not the present-Peter because he didn't know she was coming.

He nodded, and then he started to feel some of Claire's healing powers lessen his pain. "Please, there's no time. I came here to warn you not to use your cell phone. It'll change everything. Your father will find you, and you'll never meet me. If you never meet me here..." He coughed, and Claire looked at him incredulously.

"You'll never be there to heal me when I almost explode."

Claire appeared shocked, and for a moment she was frozen. She looked down at the cell phone, still powered on and in her hand. She quickly threw it away.

"But how… how can I call Peter now?"

"Claire, you need to get on a cab toward my apartment. Stop a block before, not right there, and use the pay phone to call me, saying that you can't come right to the address because you're being watched. You have my address right?"

Claire nodded. "The Haitian gave me both."

"Good," he said. "Your father's people will be watching for you. Do not let your guard down." He leaned in and kissed her quickly and said. "Make every precaution to get to me."

Claire nodded again, and she felt nervous, realizing that she had let her guard down where her father was concerned. She felt stupid thinking that he wouldn't trace her phone.

Quickly, Peter hailed a cab, and then turned to her. "You have enough money to get there and make the call?" Claire nodded and then he took her hand, leading her to the open cab door.

"Thank you, Peter, for saving me again," Claire said. "I'll have to find a way to pay you back all those times you saved me."

Peter smiled. "Claire, you already have." Claire continued to watch him as she got into the cab. When he shut the door, she mouthed something to him, which made him blush. The cab began to drive off, and when Claire turned around to watch him from the back window, he had already disappeared.

"I won't forget," Claire whispered to herself, and she knew it would be hard from this point on to see Peter and forget about that night in the cave.

--

"I found her cell phone, sir, but she's no where to be found," said one of his employees as he talked to her on the phone.

Mr. Bennet sighed audibly and then clenched his jaw. "Very well, keep looking. And try looking at the Petrelli house again too."

"We will, sir," she said, and then hung up. He looked out the window of his office and narrowed his eyes at the countryside. He was better than this, smarter and more cunning, and he would never have guessed that his own daughter would outsmart him.

She had help, and his once loyal Haitian friend had suddenly disappeared. Now his only hope in finding her was with Peter Petrelli, the man who had saved Claire and told her she wasn't the only one who was different.

Now, the game had changed.

--

When Peter had found her, she was hiding in the shadows of an alleyway near the pay phone she used to call him.

"Peter?" she asked demurely, and Peter walked over to her. Even out of the light, Peter could see the fear on her face.

"Claire? Why did you come here?" Peter asked, and she frowned at him, sure he was unhappy to see her.

"My father tried to have my memories erased. You're the only one I can count on now, so please, help me. I don't know what he'll do to me if he catches me." Claire hugged herself and looked away from Peter's penetrating gaze. It wasn't fair, she thought, to be this close to Peter and have him look at her like she was some juvenile delinquent.

"It's okay," he said, and he took her hand and brought her out into the light. She tried to shy away, but she was already within his embrace. Tears ebbed on the sides of her eyes. "I'll protect you. Just… let's go inside."

She backed away harshly and shook her head. "I can't. My father's men are watching this place too." She looked at him desperately and said, "I have no where to go."

Peter gave her a small smile full of mischief and then wrapped his arm around her. "Hang on tight. There's another way we can get to my apartment, especially since my brother is visiting right now."

Claire gave him a perplexed look, but she trusted him, so she wrapped her arms around him tightly anyway. "Wha..."

And then, as they hid behind the shadows of the alleyway, Peter looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching, and when the coast was clear, he levitated off the ground and took flight.

Claire squeezed him tightly, realizing that they were flying… and as impossible as it seemed, Peter was always capable of doing impossible things. Claire looked up at him shocked, and he returned her shock with a satisfied grin. She smiled despite the queasiness in her stomach, and then she closed her eyes as he fly here through the cool air.

Claire thought it was a wonderful feeling, and while looking at Peter one last time, she knew only one other feeling in the world that could replace this feeling now.

She prayed for that day when he could really touch her again. And for him – Claire Bennet could be patient.

AN: One more chapter to go...


	6. Epilogue

AN: These events are a divergence from the Episode 01x13, "The Fix".

* * *

Playing Minerva

Epilogue

_In the present time…_

Claire sighed in relief for what might have been the hundredth time that day. Dutifully, she stayed by Peter's bedside as he absorbed her powers and recovered from his strenuous session with Claude.

For the most part, Claude was wholly indifferent to her. In the beginning, he was annoyed by her presence, and he would have preferred Peter to learn controlling his powers alone. However, as the date of the explosion drew near, Peter became more ill, and Claude took great effort in helping him in time. That's where Claire had come in.

Peter outwardly admitted that if Claire hadn't been living with him and coming to his aid after training, he would be suffering a lot more. Claude had disagreed with him in the beginning, telling him not to rely on 'some' little girl, and that absorbing Claire's powers were no different than absorbing any one else's.

However, Claude soon realized after a few days of training that there was a special bond between them, and Peter actually _needed_ Claire's powers more than anything to survive. Fate had definitely brought them together for a significant reason.

Claire had remembered something important one evening after an exhausting day of his training. Peter was struggling to breathe as she held onto his hand. Every day he had to master the technique of his sponge-like powers, controlling them by storing them away so he could access them at any time. He even asked, "Is it alright someday when I master my power that you'll let me have yours at any time?"

"Are you asking me for permission of my powers?" Claire smiled at him as he eyed her seriously. "Don't be silly, Peter. It's not like you can help it. I'd be relieved if you'd use my powers." She paused, reveling in the memories with his future self and still angered that she had to forget them. She only hoped that Peter would be alive for that to someday happen. She gave him a reassuring smile as he awaited her response. "I don't want you to get hurt, so you need to learn to use my powers when you need them."

"But… I haven't obtained complete control yet," he said sighing in defeat. He rubbed his tired eyes and exhaled heavily. Claire put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed to her touch.

"Don't worry, until then I'm here for you."

Claire snapped out of her flashback, and she looked back to Peter, still unconscious in the bed. She grunted and heard a sound behind her. She jumped in fright, turning around to see Claude sneaking into the room.

"You scared me!" she announced. Claude sneered at her, and he didn't seem to care much about her feelings. Instead, his tired eyes watched Peter, and Claire knew that even if he didn't care for _her_, Claude did care about Peter.

"What happened to him?" she asked, brushing off his disposition toward her. "I thought he was improving."

Claude scoffed, keeping his eyes on Peter. "The stupid git couldn't focus today. Something must have been on his mind."

Claire nodded, and suddenly the atmosphere around them became very awkward. She bit her lip.

"I know exactly why he was like that," Claire said, giving Peter's limp hand a squeeze. "He found out Simone went back to Isaac." And as soon as the words came from her mouth, she had to curb her inward excitement.

Claude made a noise in his throat and seemed perturbed more than ever. "That damned harlot, she's been nothing but trouble for him since I started training him. I thought she was trying to help him."

Claire turned to face Peter again with her back to Claude. She couldn't agree more on what he said about Simone; she honestly thought Simone wanted to help Peter too.

"I don't know. Knowing what Nathan and Heidi have told me about Simone, I don't think she and Isaac ever were over to begin with." Claire frowned, and once again they were submerged in silence.

"Women, the lot of them are nothing but trouble," Claude hissed. He began to walk out the door as he noticed her offended expression. He gave her a steely look. "Tell him to contact me when he wakes up. Kick some sense into him too. I don't care if you have to pound it into his head. We have to focus on preventing that explosion, not worry about some shifty tart."

He turned around and then disappeared, and Claire could have sworn she saw a smirk on his face before he left.

She turned to Peter, still sleeping soundly in his bed. She wondered if he'd heard their conversation through his empathy even though he was asleep. Claire sighed and reached over to push back the troublesome tendrils of hair covering his eyes.

"I promise Peter that it'll be different with me," she whispered confidently, and looked at him with great affection. She traced a finger over his lips, remembering the way they felt over her body and mouth.

She snatched her hand away, remembering future-Peter's promise to forget about that night and keep time on its course. Claire longed to kiss him, just once, but the possibility of Peter waking and freaking out was too great to risk.

Claire dreaded the idea that he might reject her. Instead, she closed her eyes and brought his hand up to her mouth for a light kiss. Even that seemed safe enough to her, and if it was all she could get for the moment, she would definitely take it.

"I promise you, Peter," she whispered softly, still watching him sleep. And she meant it with her whole heart, for this Peter and for all future Peters to come.

--

_In the distant future …_

As soon as Claire's team returned from Texas, she immediately rushed to Peter's side. She had been worried since Heidi had called her that he was horribly sick and that he could possibly die before she returned. However, as she came into the main room of their operations, he appeared healthy and jubilant as he greeted her. She ran into his arms for a tight embrace.

"Peter!" she screamed in excitement, and he twirled her around as her feet flew off the ground.

"I'm so glad to see you," he said, relishing in her touch. This time, it felt right holding Claire without reservations of changing the past. In her arms, he was home.

Claire's feet touched the ground, and she released from his embrace. She looked into his eyes worriedly. "I had heard you were really sick. I came as fast as I could."

He smiled widely, touched by her concern. "You didn't have to rush. Something happened… but I'm fine now."

Claire tilted her head and eyed him suspiciously. "Did you get into some trouble again?"

Peter gave her a sheepish look, trying to pass it off with his crooked smile. Claire knew him too well. "Yes, but don't worry. I told you I'm fine now."

She grabbed his hand and walked them back to their bedroom, the one they started sharing only a few weeks ago. The only one who seemed to have a problem with this arrangement was Simone, who still adamantly worried about their 'vast' age difference. Everyone else shrugged it off, knowing full well neither Simone nor anyone for that matter could keep Peter and Claire apart.

"Please, Peter, you told me you'd start telling me everything. I tell _you_ everything! Well, when you're not grabbing it out of my head with Matt's powers," Claire insisted, and Peter sighed in defeat.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you," he said buckling to her demands. As they arrived into their room, she shut the door. Maybe it was a good idea to tell her and get this time traveling business squared away once and for all. Claire sat down on the bed next to him as he held her hands.

"Remember the time I came back from using Hiro's powers for the first time?" Claire nodded with a wry smile. It was a turning point for their relationship; as soon as Peter came back, she had run into his arms, and they had finally confessed their feelings.

"Yes, you went back and ran into me by accident," Claire said. She gave Peter a quizzical look. "But what does that have to do with your illness?"

"Something happened where I changed the timeline, um… and according to Hiro there was a rift, and I got sick again… like I was in danger of exploding."

Claire gasped and covered her mouth. "Peter! Oh no! And I was away all this time…" she said pouting and feeling guilty she wasn't here to heal him.

Peter grasped her shoulders and eyed her reassuringly. "It's okay. It's not your fault. I fixed it."

"How? How did you get better if I wasn't here to heal you? How did you not explode?"

Peter smiled at her, but he was afraid of her coming reaction to his response. "I had to go back into the past again and warn you not to call me from your cell phone. Otherwise your father would have found you, thus preventing our second meeting." He added grimly, "I would have never seen you again."

Claire froze, and her eyes widened in shock. "I… I remember that. You stopped me at the bus station." Peter nodded. "I didn't notice you were sick… it's so strange, it's like I'm suddenly remembering it."

"Claire, it's a shift in time, so of course you're remembering it now." Peter shook his head. "I don't exactly know how it all works; sometimes I wonder if Hiro actually knows either, but whatever happened, I was dangerously close to reverting back to my old self."

Claire leaned in and rested her head against his chest. "Well, everything's alright now. You're not going to explode anymore."

"Claire…"

"I promise I'll be here for you like always."

He rubbed her arm affectionately and squeezed her against his body. He inhaled a draught of breath and took in her youthful scent. "I know. I just wanted to say, now that it's all over, thank you keeping your promise about that night where I met your past self. I know… I know it must have been hard for you to keep it to yourself, and I understand that it'd be hard for me too."

Claire let him go for a moment and watched the emotions flicker across his face. "For the longest time I thought touching you at that age in the past was wrong, and that I'd someday be punished for my mistake." He paused and thought about how sick he had been. "I thought when the others said that I'd might explode again, that it was time I'd pay the price."

"Oh Peter…" His words were bringing her close to tears. He turned to her and smiled.

"I realized that I was scared… I was scared to die without you by my side, Claire Bennet." He bent down and kissed her, and she soaked up the intense feelings in his warmth. He broke the kiss and nuzzled his nose against hers.

"Peter, you don't have to worry about that. You know I'll always be here."

Peter looked up into her eyes again and then drew her into his chest as they fell backward together onto their bed. Sunlight peeked through their window and carved out a patch of light over their entwined hands.

"I know that now, Claire," he whispered finally, and he remembered a dream he always had with her by his side, taking his hand and promising that things would always be better with her.

Whether in the past, present or even the future, Peter knew nothing in the world could be better than being with Claire. And everything he could ever want was right here in her arms.

THE END

AN: LOL. I have never written so much fluff in my life. I have let things kinda open ended, whether to do a sequel or just wait for the new episodes to get another idea. I'm working on a Paire oneshot and will be posting it soon! Thanks for reading everyone!


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